The Conference Board's Employment Trends Index, a compilation of labor market indicators, has hit its highest level since June 2008. But the organization warns that the (relatively) good times might not last.The group's February employment index rose to 111.14 from a revised 109.93 in January. The board says the index, which sets 100 as the point at which employment is expanding, is up 3.2% from a year ago.“The Employment Trends index is signaling an improving employment environment,” said Gad Levanon, director of macroeconomic research at the board, in a statement. “However, even though the labor market has gained in recent months, the (budget) sequester is likely to slow the pace of job creation in the near term.”February's improvement in the index “was driven by positive contributions from seven of its eight components,” according to the Conference Board.The rising indicators — from the largest positive contributor to the smallest — were as follows: percentage of firms with positions not able to fill right now; real manufacturing and trade sales; industrial production; employees hired by the temporary-help industry; ratio of involuntarily part-time to all part-time workers; job openings; and initial claims for unemployment insurance.The one index component that did not improve? “Percentage of respondents who say they find jobs “hard to get.”This and thatAlternate reality: Since we're having fun with employment numbers, here's another one to consider: 7.1%What is that? It's what the unemployment rate would be without government job cuts during the past three and a half years, according to The Wall Street Journal.“Federal, state and local governments have shed nearly 750,000 jobs since June 2009, according to the Labor Department's establishment survey of employers,” The Journal reports. “No other sector comes close to those job losses over the same period. Construction is in second worst place, but its 225,000 cuts are less than a third of the government reductions. To be sure, construction and other sectors performed worse during the depths of the recession, but no area has had a worse recovery.”The Labor Department report did not speculate about the impact of the sequester, but The Journal adds, “Whether you view reducing the size of the public sector as a positive or negative, it clearly means fewer jobs and a higher unemployment rate in the near term.

Same old, same old: In case you missed last week's Beige Book report on the Cleveland Federal Reserve district — and how could you? — here's what the Fed had to say about the labor market in the Cleveland district over the past six weeks:“Hiring was sluggish across industry sectors,” according to the report. “Staffing-firm representatives reported that the number of job openings and placements picked up slightly since the beginning of the year. Vacancies were found primarily in the shale gas and motor vehicle industries and in professional business services. Wage pressures were contained.”In other words, still kind of blah. Hope the Conference Board is right.

Book smart: Robert H. Jackson, senior partner at Kohrman Jackson & Krantz PLL in Cleveland, has interests that extend beyond the law.Mr. Jackson, a collector of rare books and art, has been appointed the first Distinguished Visiting Scholar of the Kelvin Smith Library of Case Western Reserve University. His appointment for the 2013-2014 academic year begins Sept. 1.“This year-long residency is truly uncharted territory for a library environment and is believed to be one of the first programs of its kind in an academic research library,” said Arnold Hirshon, Case Western Reserve's associate provost and university librarian, in a statement.“The program will enrich library interactions with faculty, students, staff and the community to create collaborative intellectual and research endeavors that will advance the mission of the library as a vibrant and diverse source of knowledge,” he said.As a visiting scholar, Mr. Jackson will present at least two public lectures and work with the staff of the library, Special Collections and other departments as requested, according to a Case Western Reserve news release. He also might prepare publications and consult with staff on current collections and potential acquisitions.

Regional player:Aerotek Inc. of Hanover, Md., a provider of recruiting and staffing services, is expanding in Northeast Ohio.The company said it has opened an office at 1559 Corporate Wood Parkway in Uniontown, which is in Stark County.The office will focus primarily on placing individuals in engineering, commercial, manufacturing, scientific, professional and call center contract, contract-to-hire and direct placement positions, the company said.Aerotek's website lists 11 Ohio offices, including three in Northeast Ohio: Cleveland, Seven Hills and Uniontown.